Portrait of a Man with Glasses 1977

Jay Moon's etching, "Portrait of a Man with Glasses" from 1977, has this incredible, almost ghostly feel, doesn't it? It feels like Moon was really digging into the process, letting the acid do its thing on the plate, creating these wonderfully unpredictable marks. The texture is key here; you can almost feel the grain of the paper, the way the ink sits on the surface. Look at the glasses – the lines are so delicate, barely there, yet they define the whole face. Then, there's that mustache, a dense, dark cloud that anchors the portrait. And above his head, what is that? A strange, almost dreamlike shape looms in the background, adding another layer of mystery. It reminds me a little of some of the more intimate etchings of Picasso, that sense of immediacy and the artist’s hand being so present. Ultimately, this portrait is about more than just capturing a likeness; it’s about the conversation between the artist, the medium, and the subject. It invites us to look closer, to question, and to embrace the beautiful ambiguities of art.